Sewer



(No Model.)

J.H..OL ARKV.

SEWER. v I No. 325,820. Patented Sept. 8, 1885.

,Bell

these objects by devices illustrated in the .ac-

UNITED STATES P TENT OFFICE.

JAMES H. CLARK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINoIs;

SEWER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 325,820, datedSeptember 8, 1885.

Application filed June To all whom it may concern.- j

Be it known that 1, Lines H. CLARK, a citizen of the United States,residing in Ohicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Sewers, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in sewers, in which means areprovided for preventing the backflow of water from the main sewer. V a

The object of this invention is to provide means for preventing theset-back of water into the basements or cellars of buildings when themain sewer or drainage pipe shall be flushed or overflow; to providemeans for automatically cutting off the communication between the housedrain-pipeand the main sewer-pipe when any setback of water may occurfrom any cause; to provide. an alarm which shall be automaticallyoperated by the closing of the valve to notify the occupants of thebuilding thata set-back from the sewer has occurred, and to providecertain details of construction hereinafter described. I attaincompanying drawings, in Which-'- Figure 1 isa vertical section through awell located beneath the sidewalk, showing the relative ,location of thedrain and sewer pipes and the operating parts of my device with thevalve suspendedin an open position; Fig. 2, a similar view in detail,showing the valve closed; Fig. 3, an enlarged detail sectionthrough thevalve,showing the construc- I tion thereof; and Fig. 4., a detailsection on line to m, Fig. 3. j

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in the severalfigures of the drawings.

A indicates a well, preferably located beneath the sidewalk B, beyondthe main wall of the building. It is connected with the main; sewer-pipe(not necessary to be shown) by the pipe 0, which pipe is provided withthe usual cesspool 0r. trap, O, forming a waterseal to prevent theescape of sewer-gas into the well. The opposite side of the well is awall,preferably composed of masonry, of sufficient height to obviate thepossibility of an overflow of the well into the basement or cellar ofthe building. If desired, this wall may extend up to 29, 1885. (Nomodel.)

the sidewalk and a removable lid or cover be provided to permit accessto the well from the street; also, if desired, the drain-pipe from thegutter-spout may be led into this well, but it is not deemed necessaryto illustrate these points in the drawings filed herewith. Projectingthrough this wall, nearthe bottom of the well, is the discharge-end ofthe pipe D for carrying off the sewage from the house,

(having provided therein, just inside the said ,wall,an opening, a, forconvenience of removing any obstruction -or sediment that may lodge inthe end of this pipe or bottom of the well suflicient to interfere withthe perfect operation of the valve. This opening also forms a passagethrough which the device for automatically giving the alarm is operatedby the valve, as hereinafter described. I

A suitable trap-door, b, may be provided in the floor of the, basement,affording easy access to the aforesaid opening.

Forthe purpose of preventing the backflow of water from the sewer fromentering the said drain-pipe D, I have provided theautomatically-operating valve now to be described.

Hinged to suitable projectionsf'c, on the wall D is a, valve, E, adaptedto swing upon the hinge and effectually close the mouth of the pipe D.This valve is preferably composed of an annular rubber plate, cl,rigidly secured between two metallic flanges, c 6, (see Fig. 3,) theflange 6 having cast therewith or otherwise rigidly secured thereto thelugs ff,

which, in conjunction with the projections c,

constitute thehinge upon which the valve, swings.

Extending at right angles from, and preferably constituting a part of,flange e is an arm, 9, carrying upon its free end a weight, It, havingprojected from its outer surfacea-pris-mshaped lug, '6, adapted toengage notches or teeth j in the bar F, for the purpose of suspendingthe valve in front of the mouth of the drain-pipe D, and free fromcontact therewith.

The bar F is pivoted to a suitable projection, 70, on the wall D, andhas provided on its under side a series of teeth or notches, f, in whichto engage lug '6, as before explained. Its outer end is formed into aneye, having an elongated slot therein, through which projects the upperend of a rod, G. This rod is screwthreaded on its upper end, and has ajam or look nut, Z, on either side of bar F, for the purpose ofadjusting the position of said bar, and consequently altering thesuspended position of the valve.

The lower end of the rod G is pivotally con nected to a rod, H, which isalso pivotall y secured to a projection, m, on the opposite wall of thewell, extending horizontally therefrom, and having secured at its outeror free end, beyond the pivotal point of the rod G, a float, I, havingthe general contour of a loaf, the flat or plane surface thereof beingnearest the bottom of the well. This shape is deemed preferable, asrendering the float more sensitive to the water-pressure.

,I do not limit myself to the particular construction of this automaticvalve herein shown, as it is obvious that changes of mechanicalconstruction might easily be effected without departing from the spiritof my inventio11-such, for instance, as perforating the ends of the barF and rod G, and making the adjustment by means of a connecting-pin.

The operation is as follows: \Vhen the backwater from the mainsewer-pipe rushes into the well through the pipe 0, it elevates thefloat I, which, through the medium of rods H and G, inturn elevates thetoothed bar F, causing the lug i on the weight it to become disengagedfrom the notch on bar F, and the gravity of the weight causes it tofall, carrying with it the hinged valve E, instantaneously andeffectually sealing the mouth of the drainpipe D, as illustrated in Fig.2.

In order to render this device more practical and useful, it is designedthat the automatic closing of the valve shall automatically operate togive notice or warning to some suitable part of the house that aset-back from the sewer has occurred. This is also essential in orderthat the valve may be reset after the backflow has subsided. To this endI have provided an electric bell, J, located at some convenient point inthe house, connected with a battery and having a wire, n, strung in anywell-known manner along the Walls of the building, the free end of whichwire passes through the opening a along the top of the drain-pipe D andprojects slightly beyond the end of said pipe. Another wire, 0,connected with the battery, is strung in a similar manner and parallelthereto, with a few inches space between them.

When the valve E is seated on the end of pipe D, (see Fig. 2,) the metalflange 0 comes in contact with the projecting ends of these wires,completes the electric circuit, and produces the alarm.

I do not limit myself to this particular device for producing theautomatic alarm, as various forms of mechanical construction may beemployed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s- 1. A valve automatically operated to cut offcommunication between the house drainpipe and the main sewer-pipe,substantially as described. I t V 2. Thevalve, in combination with meansfor causing the said valve to automatically cut off communicationbetween the house drain-pipe and the main sewer-pipe, substantially asdescribed.

3. A hinged orpivoted valve and a weight I rigidly secured theretohaving a lug projecting from said weight, in combination with a notchedor toothed bar,whereby the valve may be suspended, substantially asdescribed.

4. A hinged or pivoted valve and a weight rigidly secured thereto having2. lug projected from said weight, in combination with a float and aseparable connection between said weight and float, substantially asdescribed.

5. A hinged or'pivoted valve, E, and the weighth, rigidlysecuredthereto, having a lag projecting from said weight, in combinationwith the pivoted bar F, the adjustable connectingrod G, and pivoted rodH, provided with a float at its free end, substantially as described.

6. The automatically-operating valve, in combination with means forautomatically producing an alarm,substantially as described.

7. The hinged or pivoted valve, in combination with means for producingan alarm automatically operated by said valve, substantially asdescribed. g

8. The hinged or pivoted valve having a metal plate upon one facethereof adapted to form a connection to complete the circuit between thetwo disconnected poles of a battery when the said valve is seated,substantially as described.

JAMES H. CLARK. Witnesses:

W. W. ELLIOTT, WILL R. OMOHUNDRO.

ICO

